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Gender Perspectives, Feminist Theories and Nuclear Weapons
Jannis Kappelmann M.A., Researcher and PhD Student at University of Hamburg
Summer 2024
Historically, the Global Governance of Nuclear Weapons has relied on gendered assumptions, practices and speech acts – and it does to this day. Feminist activists, since the very beginning of the so-called ‘nuclear age’, were among the staunchest opposition against nuclear weapons, as they would be incompatible with Feminist values, placing marginalised groups and individuals in the centre of their consideration. From this persistent activism, research on gender perspectives, feminist theories and nuclear weapons followed – focussing on language (e.g. Cohn), the legal framework (e.g. Biswas), (post-)colonial issues (e.g. Teiwa) or activism itself (e.g. Acheson). In this seminar, we want to dive into these diverse perspectives and explore why the global governance of nuclear weapons has always been a case for feminist engagement. With an intersectional aspiration, this seminar should provide both tangible examples of the application of feminist theory as well as insights into the global governance of nuclear weapons as part of the international order, or the governance international peace and security more specifically.